After about three weeks on strike, a group of migrant workers employed at a tobacco farm in Gerrard County, Kentucky have reached a settlement with the farm’s owner. The workers came from Mexico under the H2A visa program, which allows foreign nationals to enter the U.S. for temporary or seasonal farm work. The Department of Labor program also sets a…
Eastern Kentucky University officials plan to freeze tuition next year, President Michael Benson announced in a campus-wide email Wednesday in an apparent attempt to stimulate enrollment. In the email, Benson noted that EKU serves some of the poorest counties in the country, and nearly half its students are first-generation, low-income or both. “We are committed…
It wasn’t that long ago when a beer lover, if she wanted to get a good, local craft beer, would have to go to the brewery where it was made and sold. The locally brewed beers weren’t available in your local Kroger or Walmart. But now, in just the span of a few years, that…
Tanning bed salons across the country — including some on Kentucky — might not be following state rules on age restrictions and tanning, according to a new study out last month. In Kentucky, children under age 14 have to have a guardian with them to tan. Teenagers between 14 and 18 have to have written consent from…
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear plans to announce an initiative to combat opioid overdoses and deaths. A statement from his office says he’ll make the announcement Monday afternoon in Frankfort with Emily Walden, who is president of the state chapter of Stop the Organized Pill Pushers Now. Opioids are a class of…
by The Associated Press – LOUISVILLE, KY. — The home of the Kentucky Derby is investing $32 million on parking lot renovations and a new bus depot. Churchill Downs says the upgrades will improve traffic and parking flow for visitors. The project will add a pedestrian plaza and enlarged paddock entrance gate for bus riders and pedestrians.…
by LISA GILLESPIE (KPR) – Wednesday was the first day to buy health insurance on Healthcare.gov in Kentucky. For about 80% of Kentuckians who buy a plan on the individual market, prices might actually go down. According to Melissa Mathers, who serves as director of communications at Family Health Centers in Louisville, there’s still a lot of…
by Grace Schneider, Courier Journal – A plan to reform the state’s retirement systems majorly affects teachers. Rachel Aretakis/Courier-Journal/USA TODAY Network The Bullitt County schools became the first local system to agree to cancel classes to allow teachers to rally in Frankfort if a special legislative session is called on pension reform. The school board voted 4-0…
Louisville-based Norton Healthcare scored impressive gains in a newly released national ranking of hospitals’ patient safety scores. Two of Norton’s three local hospitals stepped up in letter grades this fall and one of its facilities, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, leaped from a B grade last year to an A in scores from the healthcare watchdog Leapfrog Group. That…
Kentucky lawmakers still have “a lot of work to do” on Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposal to overhaul the state’s ailing public pension systems, House Speaker Jeff Hoover said Tuesday after meeting for nearly two hours behind closed doors with his Republican colleagues in the state House. “It’s clear we got a lot of work to…
